we'll fight until the end
by RelapseAndEscape
Summary: Rachael offers to proofread Finn's essay about the most influential person in his life. She assumes it's about her. The essay's about Kurt. Rachael rewrites it because she believes she's the most influential person in Finn's life. Kinn, onesided Finchel.


Rachael Berry's morning ritual's very strict to the point, but since her Dads are delaying quite a bit, she decides to hop onto Facebook just for a little while – not that it will change her schedule on any future events, - and notices that at seven am in the morning, Finn's available in the chat option and she finds herself raising her eyebrow before finally asking him: _why are you on Facebook at this time? and before you ask, my Dads are being slow, so my morning schedule's been delayed._

Finn responds immediately, _Kurt takes a lotte of tyme geting ready. :( but its OK. Im eatting serial when hes busy so yeah_. Rachael can imagine her boyfriend with a standardized bowl of Lucky Charms in his rude awakening as he spoons them.

_Lucky Charms?_ Rachael guesses.

_Nah, _that surprises her given that the few times she's seen Finn have breakfast, they're a huge bowl of Lucky Charms in front of him with a load of milk in them as he plays around with his food before eating them. _Kurt doesnt lyke that stuff so Im having his Cheerios. Did u know there was a serial with the name Cheerios? Theyre really good…I should get you to try some. The ones Kurt buys R veegan. :) _

Just out of spite of not being able to guess, Rachael types back. _No thank you. A star has to maintain her figure_.

_Kurts really thin & he has them_, comes Finn's poor argument.

_Kurt's got a metabolism of a giraffe on crack,_ Rachael's slightly annoyed that their topic of conversation's Kurt for some reason that morning, and she has noticed that he's been talking a bit about his brother in the recent few days and it makes her feel as if Finn's dating Kurt, not _her_. She doesn't like how it makes her feel slightly unwanted in the favour of her best friend. She knows that Kurt's Finn's stepbrother, but at the same time, Blaine has a brother and he barely talks about him, and Puck has a sister and they don't even see each other as much despite them living in the same household. Rachael's sure if she has a sibling, she wouldn't let the little rascal ruin her routine. It's for their own good, really, because when Rachael rises up as a star, they're going to be just as famous, so she's really just doing them a favour and she's doing Finn a favour by being a little cold now towards the topic of Kurt, because she knows that if he focuses on her now, he won't feel guilty when she's a famous star on Broadway and he's just the husband in the background. It's cold, but it's true.

Finn's probably not going to go anywhere with his poor education and his very restricted skills and Finn doesn't want to take up singing despite his beautiful voice and her insistence that they sing a duet on Broadway together. They can be that famous couple that everyone makes a name for. They can be Finchel. It's Finchel. Not adorable brotherly Furt. Not cutesy Kinn. Just _them_.

_…Kurts on crack? & whats the metabolism of a giraffe?_ Finn asks and she can just imagine his face scrunch up in pure and utter confusion.

Rachael just sighs at Finn's naïve nature and then decides to change the topic of conversation. _Finn, your English is horrible_, she finally says, noticing all of the misspelled words and the only reason she's sure that Finn spells _metabolism_ right is because he's copied it down from her original spelling.

_Yeah…about that, Rache. Rache, did u finesh the English essay were supozed to write about that person that influenzes u the most in highschool_?

_Yes_. Rachael grins, and asks herself, _who is more influential to Rachael Berry other than Rachael Berry_? She then realises his dilemma with all of the misspelled words and finally asks him.

_Do you want me to proofread your essay, Finn?_ Rachael actually wants to read that essay and wants to see how much of an influence she's made on Finn's life, being the most influential person in his life to this date and this only emits a smile from her. She _is_ going to get married to him after all. Who else would influence him? She waits for a response.

Finn finally responds after a minute of writing. _Proofread…that's lyke bulletproofing sommetheng, right? Becoz I think that you can't really do that to papers…if it's proofred, then does that meen that the teach cant read it or…?_

_No, Finn, it means I'm going to look at your essay and check for grammar mistakes_, Rachael replies after a moment, and then waits anxiously for a response.

_Would u do that for me, Rache? You're realy awesome at this English thing. just as good as Kurt and Artie even :) your realy smart, all of u, & I wouldve asked Kurt but hes really busy a lotte so I dont want to waist his tyme. :( _Finn says back and Rachael feels herself cringe, because her time is more precious than Kurt's and she knows that. All he does is look at Burberry catalogues and tries to decide which four-hundred dollar shirt should he get.

Before Finn leaves, he sends her it on her email_, rachaelberryrisingstar(at)gmail(dot)com_, because she's sure all of the really amazingly stern and professional people have Google mail. She gets an email immediately from Finn's football email (Coach Beiste insists on each one having one just in case practice time changes or they need to remember to bring something—Finn's glad for that because he would've forgotten his helmet three times over), _McKinleyFinnHudsonNumber05_, which is a Hotmail account. She opens up the attachment and stares at the document that is lined with red as if it's full of blood ink. Rachael makes a mental note in trying to teach Finn about how he's supposed to spellcheck.

"Rachael, honey, our car won't start up and it's an awful long ride," Leroy suddenly says as he walks into the room. "…I'll call them and tell them you're not coming today and Hiram will fix the car for tomorrow, okay?" his voice is sugary sweet and she nods. She decides to then take a look at Finn's essay and read it thoroughly so she can give him her feedback. She hopes he has strong hints about how much he loves her...

_it all startes off with Glee club. i used 2 bully & harras (Rachael uses that word a lotte but i'm still not sure what it means, so if its wrong, try to ignore it, Mr Bell) Kurt a whole lotte & im not proud of it at all. i didnt lyke to watch other people do it, but i didnt do anything about it really even if it made me feel kind of weird, like im doing something wrong, the kind of wrong u feel when u steal something from your Moms purse, like a bunch of pills & your kind of scared she might realy realy the Panadol later but u need it right now kind of bad. i remember i try to help him in really little ways, like when he's writing a text, i let him finesh it before i slushie him, or when we throw him in the dumpster, i let him take off his jacket (can u really believe that thing costs over a hundred dollars?) & when i slushie him, i always aim for his face because he really, really lykes his clothes. he always looks really good & when we got into Glee, i stopped throwing him around & i think he raely noticed & apreshiated it, & it should be weird because Kurt realy realy lyked me lyke lyke the way that Ariel likes Eric in the Little Mermaid. i think that his little crush on me kind of changed me because then I act like a total jerk when we're stepbrother and get in over my head and call his room faggy (still really sorry bout that),_

Rachael's face is inked with shock. This badly written essay's about _Kurt_ if anything. She remembers Finn throwing slushies at her face before, and he doesn't even try to do those little things for her. He'd actually not mind if he aims at her clothes, face, hair, and she spends an awful long time styling her hair to mere perfection. And how can Finn think that Kurt's crush on him was cute? He was stalking him! Rachael powers through the rest of the essay with angry, very attentive eyes.

_i learned that not every gay guy wants to get into your pants & i also learned that Kurts a really good person inside & out & the fact that he realy apreshiated it when i stopped bullying him makes me kind of happy that someone can be so happy about something like that, the little stuff sort of thing. i love that about him. though it's still weird that during the whole Push It song, he slapped my butt, but it was kind of cute. i mean, if i do it, i'm a creepy stalker, but if someone like Kurt does it, its just cute, even in my eyes. kind of left those little jitters when i should've been offended—like i'm wanted and that influences me becuz i think that people would actually lyke me & stuff when i get a job, that i'm a people-person, lyke one of those guys that everyone lykes & he made me really comfortable with it. i even met a MTF and her name's Emma & we talked normally & i wouldn't have done that normally but Kurt makes me feel comfortable with all sorts of people, like hes got some sort of magik spell on me or something. Its really good too. i really am flattered tho that he really lykes me, becuz a lot of girls always go for Puck. theres Rachael & i like her a lot, but she doesn't give me the same feel that Kurt does, that i can do anything I want & I think its because Rache always focuses a lot on herself & that makes me feel likes she doesn't notice me at all. it kind of hurts sometimes becuz shes realy star-hungry & she wont listen to me sometimes. not like Kurt does. Kurt becomes my stepbrother later on & we have like these really amazing nights where we just talk for hours & he makes the best warm milk ever (he says it's just putting milk in a microwave but I don't believe him). _

Rachael's mouth hangs open. Really star-hungry and driven was a good quality, but the way that Finn makes it sound like it's a bad one—and on top of that, he's kept on making Kurt sound like an angel fallen from grace. If anything, it sounds like _Finn's_ the one that has a crush on Kurt, and because of that, something wrenches in her stomach. Rachael realises that Finn can't decipher his own feelings for Kurt and writes it off as brotherly, like the way that he finds Kurt's crush on him cute, or the way that he's _idolising_ Kurt.

_Kurt also always helps out a lot, and that infleucence a lot of my choices. Lyke during a week assynment when we were doing ballads, Mr Schue paired me & Kurt together & he & i were partners & it was kind of weird, because i didn't think boys sang ballads to each other, but Kurt was really happy and it made me feel like…that wanted thing again, like hes the only thing that keeps me going sort of thing & with the Quinn thing, i relly needed it. Kurt also lost his Mother so i can relate to him, and that makes me take a few more risks with stuff, like asking Rachael to marry me (even if Kurts against it), becuz I know that if it doesn't go well, I still have someone to leen on when its not OK. Kurt sings I Honestly Love You to me & i didn't know if it's because of his crush on me or if it was because he thought of me as a brother or something (Puck does weird stuff all the time and says it's normal because we're 'bros' but he doesn't sing ballads to me but then again Puck isnt the ballad type anyway). _

He's in denial. Rachael shakes her head. He's in denial about his feelings for Kurt, during the ballad. This is long before they'd become stepbrothers, and this starts off with the bullying and him feeling uncomfortable about pushing around the gay kid when he really doesn't care if he throws around his slushie on Rachael's History homework and something causes her to bite her cheek. She bets he would never have slushied Kurt's homework even before then! Her eyes are reeling with sudden anger and rage towards her boyfriend.

_i think one of the things that influence me the most is when Kurt got raely jealous of me hanging out with his Dad when he & my Mom were dating (before we became stepbrothers) & i think I finally get that people are jealous a lot, & it usually maens that its becuz they want something they cant have. with Kurt, he has his Dads love & affection but he still cant act lyke a guy becuz he doesn't lyke to & its not his fault. i think that also helped me think that me being jealous of Puck for having girls is just because im jealous that i cant get what I really want sometimes. he really helped me understand myself a lot better because im jealous a lot, & i always don't get why really. like im jealous of Rachael a lotte, becuz she's got a rael talent in singing & a shot at places, but i don't & then i realise its because of all of these issues i have of myself, that i think that i don't have a shot in the real world. _

Can't get what he wants? Rachael repeats that in her mind. He has her, so what else can he want? But the answer comes before she can even stop it: Kurt, his step-brother Kurt. That's who he wants and she can tell the colours between the lines. Finn's in love with Kurt, whether he knows it or not. He gives Finn that kind of on-the-top-of-the-world feeling that Hiram and Leroy always talk about so much.

_i also am infleucned by him when the whole Karofsky thing was going on & he was being raelly bullied & I didn't do anything but then i saw that i raelly shouldn't be afraid to take that kind of risk for someone like Kurt, like family& blood & stuff is really important & that i shouldn't take it for granted. this helped me a lot because i became more open with people around me & i took chances i wouldn't take just because i'm sure Kurt would do the same for me given the situations were swapped & that's sort of really nice to have someone there for you at all times. _

Rachael finally stares back at the essay and opens up a new document and starts writing: _I have been severely influenced by Rachael Berry and her quite amazing vocal ranges. I know that she's going to be a famous star one day and this is why I'm so influenced as well as the fact that she will one day be my future wife so it's only natural for me to feel this way about her…_it's for his own good. She's going to be famous one day and by that time, he's going to feel so guilty about not writing about his wife. She knows and that's what causes her nimble fingers to continue to type.

* * *

Mr Bell's eyes are glittering the next time that Finn sees him a week after he's handed in his essay. He gives him a pat on the back. "Your essay was brilliant, Finn."

Mercedes and Kurt just raise an eyebrow. "Brilliant?"

Finn's grinning as widely as possible as Mr Bell finally says. "I didn't know that Rachael Berry could influence you that much…you sound so passionate about her, as well as I enjoyed reading about the part where you wanted to take her to Paris. It's a lovely sight, Paris is. I wish you all the best," Mr Bell then leaves and Finn's smile drops and he remembers taking the essay that Rachael insists she prints and giving it to Mr Bell and he hasn't read any of it again, because he knows that if he does, then his mind's gonna be jumbled on all of Rachael's big pretty words, so he just decides not to.

He feels betrayed.

"So…you want to take Rachael to Paris?" Mercedes suddenly raises an eyebrow.

"SHE REWROTE MY ESSAY!" Finn suddenly exclaims, when he's sure nobody else is going to come in on them. He looks completely and utterly shocked and surprised. She's jealous, and he remembers in his original essay he wrote, he mentioned something about jealousy being spun on when someone had something that they wanted…Rachael wants to be known as the most influential person in Finn's life. That's what it was all about, wasn't it? He's reeling with thought and it's gripping at his mind.

"She did _what?_" Mercedes's eyes widen and Kurt's just shell-shocked.

Rachael suddenly walks into the room and Finn's staring at her in pure horror. "…you rewrote my essay, Rache. I just wanted you to spellcheck it—you said that was what proofreading was!"

"I did you a favour!" Rachael suddenly blurts out, looking close to tears. "I should be your most influential person, Finn. We're going to get married! I didn't expect you to have feelings for someone else!"

Rachael doesn't want to blurt it all out in front of Kurt, that Finn has feelings for _him_, that Finn likes _him_. "You're so clueless. Just read your original essay. You sound like you were ready to jump into bed with _him_! You thought his crush on you was _cute_."

"_Him_?" Kurt looks confused all of a sudden. "…Finn has a crush on a boy?"

"Yes," Rachael finally states. "He does. And he thinks that he should give me his essay to proofread when it's not about me. It's obvious that you idolise him more than you should. You treated him better than you ever did me. All you ever do is talk about him when we're together and don't give me any of…of that bullshit that he's close to you because it's obvious that your heart belongs to him. _And not me_. And Finn, do you think that us getting married is going to work out when you're in love with—"

"Don't say his name," Finn's voice is soft. "Please."

"I'll make a point," Rachael says as she looks at Mercedes. "Mercedes, who did you write your essay on?"

"…Mr Schue?" Mercedes says after a pause, almost as if she's deciding whether or not Rachael will explode again.

"And Kurt?"

"I wrote it about Blaine," Kurt easily says and Finn looks like a beaten dog.

"Finn, he can't love you because he's already in love with Blaine," Rachael finally say and it sinks into his skin as he looks close to tears. "And he can't love you because you're stepbrothers, Finn. You think that Burt and Carole would…"

"Please stop," Finn's begging. "Please."

Kurt's just standing there, as he bites down his lower lip. "…you wrote…wrote an entire essay…about me? …because…you love me?" Kurt's eyes are clouded with confusion.

Finn bolts out of the room the minute he hears Kurt's confused voice, before he gets angry, before he tells him that he can't be together of him because of Blaine, because they're stepbrothers. By the time that Kurt talks to him about it, Finn doesn't even respond. Before Kurt leaves, Finn grabs onto Kurt's wrist and kisses him. That's the most passion he's had in his life. A day after Regionals, Rachael and him get married. It's out of obligation, because it's how it's supposed to be, Rachael and Finn hand-in-hand. His lips barely touch hers, and the only time he smiles is when he sees Kurt.

Kurt smiles back, but it's silent.

_We're supposed to fight for each other. We're supposed to be together right now. You aren't supposed to be marrying Rachael. I'm not supposed to be with Blaine—_

Kurt remembers the essay he writes to Mr Bell.

_The person whose influenced me the most is Finnegan Hudson because I thought I loved him and I still do, but I can't tell him and I realise that in this world, some love just can't exist, especially when the other is your step-brother, especially when he won't love you back and especially when people think that you're supposed to stay together with a pretty brown-eyed curly-haired Warbler for all of your life. I love that he does those little things for me sometimes even when he used to bully me, and it influences me as a person, because I learned how to pick off the little things off Finn when he's sad and I realise that sometimes, even the littlest thing, like long chats with warm milk, can really help others survive. I'm influenced by him because he is my stepbrother, my inspiration, my love, and my passion – he is the song I sing when I sing, and the lullaby I play when I want to cry. He is the person that is always going to be there, my rock and my shoulder and he's full of so much courage that I always look up to him, because despite everything, he always overcomes his fears, such as his body image issues, some of which I share. I don't share them anymore even if he's still battling through his inner demons. I stay with him through the fight. I'll fight with him. I'll fight for him. Finn's kept me alive for so long, because I believe that in the end, lovers, or brothers, or friends… we'll still do anything for each other. We'd still fight for each other, because we're fighters. _


End file.
